We observe that the Queen has approved the appointment of
Canon Purse to the Westminster Canonry vacated by the death of Canon Rowsell, and the appointment of the Rev. Basil Wilberforce (a most enthusiastic advocate of temper- ance) to the Westminster Canonry vacated by Canon Furse, to which the living of St. John's, Westminster, is attached We mention these not very important ecclesiastical appoint- ments, because there has recently been a discussion in the World, of February 14th, and also in various recent issues of the Church, Times and other papers, on the question whether Mr. Gladstone's ecclesiastical appointments have been governed by political motives or not ; and we wish. to say that, so far as we can judge, no Prime Minister of the last fifty years has made ecclesiastical appointments more completely unaffected by political motives than Mr. Gladstone As Canon MacColl showed in his letter to the World, out of the twelve episcopal appointments made by Mr. Gladstone, eight have been filled by strong Tories ; while even of the remainder, it can hardly be said that they were filled by followers of Mr. Gladstone. In the case of the lesser appoint- ments, there has been equal, if not greater, indifference shown to the political bias of the clergyman preferred. We sincerely believe that Mr. Gladstone has always felt enthusiastic political support to himself an objection, so far as it goes, rather than a recommendation, for ecclesiastical preferment.
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